Toni Morrison was a celebrated American writer known for her exploration of the Black experience, particularly the Black female experience. She became the first Black female writer to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature (1993).

The short story “Sweetness” was originally published inThe New Yorkerin February 2015. It became the opening chapter of her novelGod Help the Child. The story is narrated in the first person by a woman named Sweetness, reflecting on her relationship with her daughter, Lula Ann.